Need a Substitute for PayPal? 9 Best Alternatives

If you need to receive or send money online or need to use an online payment platform, you have probably heard about PayPal.

But for some people, PayPal is not a good option, and luckily, there are alternatives.

This article will help you find a substitute for PayPal and will give you 3 legit alternatives you can start using for free.

Why consider an alternative to PayPal?

When it comes to receiving, sending, or paying with an online platform, there is no doubt that PayPal is still the biggest player and a name most people have heard of.

I myself use it to receive money from survey sites that offer PayPal as a payout method, but also to receive money in other ways or to pay for different services or products online.

But I have found out that PayPal is not always the best option and sometimes it is also not possible to use, and therefore I have looked into alternatives and found some other great platforms.

In some countries, PayPal is not available, and here you need to have an alternative if you want to use online payment platforms.

In other cases, the platform or service you are using might not use PayPal but only offer other ways to receive and send money, and then it is also necessary to know which alternatives are good.

Personally, I do live in a country where PayPal is available, and I often use it. But I am also using some services that do not cooperate with PayPal.

In addition to this, PayPal's exchange rates are very high compared to many other platforms, and they are not very transparent about this, in my opinion.

For example, when you withdraw to your bank account from PayPal, it will say there are no fees. However, the exchange rate they give you if you withdraw in a different currency is very poor, in my experience.

Therefore, it can sometimes be a good idea to use alternatives to PayPal.

9 Best PayPal alternatives

The platforms below are all great alternatives. Which one is the best depends on your needs, where you live, and what services you use online. Below, you can watch the video for the best alternatives to PayPal. You can also read the full details below the video.

I will give an overview of what each option is all about, so you'll get a good idea, and then you can click to read the full review of the platforms you want to know more details about.

Alternative 1 – AirTM:

AirTM is a platform I just recently started using, but I have started to really like it.

Many great GPT sites have started to offer payment to AirTM, like, for example, Freecash. This is done without fees, unlike PayPal, which charges a fee.

And it is very easy to transfer your money from AirTM to wherever you want it to go, more or less.

You can, for example, withdraw to your local bank in more than 100 different countries, and it is also an option in many countries where PayPal does not offer this. The fees are also, in many cases, lower than on many other platforms (this will vary depending on your country).

==>Click to Join AirTM<==

Alternative 2 – Payoneer:

Payoneer is another of my personal favorite alternatives to PayPal, and one I am regularly using myself.

It is available in over 200 different countries and in 150 different currencies. You can use it for several different platforms and services. For example, to receive money from certain survey sites, if you are renting out through Airbnb, as a freelancer on Fiverr or Upwork, to get money if you are an Amazon Associate, and many more services.

You can get the money in your Payoneer account out in several different ways, like withdrawing to your local bank account, ordering a prepaid MasterCard, making payments to merchants, and more. In general, Payoneer has some reasonable fees compared to other platforms.

Furthermore, Payoneer offers a great joining bonus of $25 if you join through an invitation link. If you would like to join Payoneer and get the $25 bonus, you can find such a link in the full review through the link below.

==>Click to read full Payoneer review<==

Alternative 3 – Skrill:

Skrill is another good alternative. It is available in around 200 countries, and you can use it for a number of different services.

Several paid survey sites use it as a payout method; it is a very popular platform to use for betting and gambling sites, forex sites, gaming sites, and you can also use it for Skype and eBay.

It has some great options to get the money out of your Skrill account if this is what you wish. You can withdraw money to your local bank account, you can withdraw to your Visa card, or you can order a prepaid MasterCard.

The fees are, in many cases, not very high, but it depends on how you wish to use it. For example, it will be quite expensive to withdraw a small amount to your local bank account, as there is a set fee of around €5. But if you are withdrawing a big amount, this fee will not be higher and will therefore be a very cheap option. To get a full overview of the fees, you can check the full review below.

==>Click to read full Skrill review<==

Alternative 4 – Cash App:

Cash App is a peer-to-peer payment service that allows users in the United States and the United Kingdom to send and receive money. It is one of the most used payment services in those regions, so it makes sense that it is one of the best alternatives to PayPal.

It also has a few convenient features and offers a way for you to earn a small amount by storing your money in your Cash App account. You can even request a card that can serve as an ATM/debit card, so it's quite handy.

==>Click to read full Cash App review<==

Alternative 5 – Venmo:

Venmo is a mobile payment service owned by PayPal. It's quite similar to Cash App since you can send and receive money as well.

It is only available in the US and some US territories like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. You can also use it to convert your cash into various cryptocurrencies. It is a very convenient option because you can just install the app and use it to manage your account.

==>Click to read full Venmo review<==

Alternative 6 – Gift Cards:

Gift cards can also be a great alternative to PayPal. While this is not as good as cash, it can be a good option if PayPal is not available in your country, because you will most likely find this as an option.

As for the type of gift cards you can redeem, it usuall depends on your location. In most cases, you can redeem Amazon gift cards or gift cards for other online retailers.

Another reason why it is a good option is that, on some sites or apps, the payout threshold to redeem gift cards will be lower compared to cash payout options. So, you can easily withdraw your earnings.

==>Click to read full Amazon gift cards review<==

Alternative 7 – Crypto:

In countries where PayPal is not available, you will usually have the option to redeem cryptocurrencies instead. This is another great alternative to PayPal because it is almost as good as cash. And sometimes, if you play your cards right, you can even earn more because the value of crypto can increase.

Of course, it also goes without saying that its value can also decrease. Just be aware that there will be fees involved when converting your earnings to crypto and withdrawing them to your crypto wallet. That's why you should only go for this option if you plan to hold the crypto and cash out when its value is high.

That's usually the strategy people use when they convert their earnings to crypto.

==>Click to read full Bitcoin review<==

Alternative 8 – Prepaid Visa & Mastercard:

This option can also be considered because some survey and GPT sites offer this form of payout method. Of course, whether this option is suitable for you really depends on your long-term goals of what you want to do with the money you earn from these sites and apps.

But the beauty of this option is that you can treat it as cash as well, so if PayPal is not available in your region, this is the next best thing, in my opinion.

==>Click to read prepaid Visa review<==

Alternative 9 – Bank Transfer:

In my opinion, this is a more convenient option even when compared to PayPal. What's great about this option is that there are a good number of sites and apps that offer this as a payout option. Just be aware that this option is not available in all countries.

You also need to know that this option will usually involve the highest transaction fees. So, even though it is convenient, its biggest drawback is that you won't receive the full amount of your earnings when you withdraw through this method.

==>Click to read direct bank transfer review<==

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are plenty of alternatives to PayPal if you need to find a substitute. The above is not a full list, but the sites that I have tested and researched and found to be good options. Which one is best depends on your needs and, to a large extent, on the country you live in, as fees can vary widely.

Personally, I really like AirTM and Payoneer as an option for my needs, as the fees for what I use it for and for where I live are very reasonable, and both also give a great joining bonus.

But for you, it might be different, and it can especially be a good idea to read the specifics about the fees for your specific country before joining any of the platforms. But also remember that they are all free to join, and there are no fees until you use certain services, so there is no risk in signing up to check it out.

If you have any experiences with any of the platforms yourself or have any questions or comments, feel free to leave a comment below.